


Priceless

by helsinkibaby



Series: Right Beside Me Around Every Turn [12]
Category: The Flying Doctors
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Canon Het Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-12
Updated: 2018-01-12
Packaged: 2019-03-04 01:20:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13353510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helsinkibaby/pseuds/helsinkibaby
Summary: When Chris returns from seeing her father, Tom is there to meet her.





	Priceless

**Author's Note:**

> for gen prompt bingo  
> prompt: priceless

When Chris steps off the aeroplane and sees Tom standing near the hangar, waiting for her, she does not cry. It's a fairly close run thing, involving much biting of the inside of her cheeks and quite a few deep breaths as she walks towards him and it gets that much harder when he meets her halfway, pulls her into a hug without saying a word. She buries her face in his chest, wraps her arms around his waist and holds on tightly, breathing in his familiar scent, pretending for just a moment that her father isn't dying, that her life as she knows it isn't falling apart around her. 

For the briefest of moments, it works. 

But then she lifts her head and looks into his eyes, sees the concern and tenderness there. He lifts one hand to her cheek before moving it to her hair and she knows that if he says anything, she's going to break down in tears, right there on the tarmac. 

And because Tom knows her well, he probably knows that too, so it's not a huge surprise to her when he just loops his arm around her shoulders, gives it a squeeze and leads her to his car. He's just closed her passenger door when the pilot comes over with her travel bag and a worried expression on his face. Tom accepts the bag, throws it in the back seat and starts to drive, still without saying a word. 

Chris closes her eyes as he drives, lets the familiar sounds and smells of the Outback surround her. Tom's hand closes over her knee every so often and it makes her smile. She opens her eyes only when the car stops and her smile turns soft as she looks around, realises they're at the watering hole that he'd brought her to the day she'd found out about her dad. 

They get out of the car and walk to the edge of the water, hand in hand. Chris is tempted to reach down and pick up a stick, throw it into the water like she'd done the last day but she knows there's no point. Her dad has made his decision, all she can do is live with it. 

"How is he?" The words are quiet, accompanied by a squeeze of her hand. 

She sighs. "He's good, actually. Better than I am." Tears rise in her throat and she pushes them down. She’s so sick of crying. 

"Did you get him to change his mind about having the treatment?" And just like that, the tears are harder to fight and she shakes her head. He makes a little noise, pulls her into a hug and once again, she wraps her arms around his waist and closes her eyes. "Oh, Chris..." 

Straightening, she wipes at her eyes with the back of her hand. "He says the treatment wouldn't significantly prolong his life... that the cure would almost be worse than the disease..."

"He's probably right." 

He's definitely right, because her dad is a doctor and so is Tom and so is she so they all know the truth. Chris is just finding out that it's one thing when it's a patient, a totally different thing when it's one of the people that means most to you in the world. 

"He doesn't have long," she says quietly, her fingers finding the buttons of his shirt, playing with them as the July sun beats down on them. "A few months." 

His next words have her looking up sharply. "You want to stay with him, don't you?" Whatever he sees on her face, it makes him chuckle. "Don't look so surprised... I do know a little bit about how you think." 

She leans her forehead against his shoulder, closes her eyes just for a second. "I spent the whole flight back here not knowing how to bring it up." 

She feels him kiss the top of her head. "Silly," he says but there's no recrimination there. Instead he makes it sound fond, an endearment even. "Chris, these next few months with your dad... they're priceless; you'll never get that time back. Of course you should be there with him." His hands move to her shoulders and she looks up to see a smile playing around his lips. "I have two leave of absence forms filled in on the kitchen table... all you have to do is sign yours." 

Chris blinks, feeling like she's missed something. "Two?" 

Tom continues as if she hasn't spoken. "I made some enquiries... I should have no problem getting on a supply panel there, it sounds like there's plenty of work. I'm assuming we'll be staying at your dad's house, so one salary will be plenty... you can let me worry about everything else, all you'll have to do is take care of your dad, enjoy the time with him..." He's rambling, as he's wont to do when he's had a thought in his head, a speech prepared, and is trying to get it all out but it must finally penetrate how shocked she's looking because he stops, tilts his head and narrows his eyes. "Wait, you didn't think I was going to let you go through this alone, did you?" His right hand slides down to her left hand, fingers finding the two rings there, his meaning obvious. 

The sob that bursts from Chris's throat is both sudden and violent and she practically leaps into Tom's arms, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Thank you," she manages to whisper and she shivers as she hears his reply. 

"Chris, we're a team... where you go, I go." He pulls back, cups her face in his hands. "I made you a promise a long time ago that I'd never leave you again. Not even temporarily." Gently, carefully, he brushes her tears away with the pads of his thumbs. "I meant every word." He leans in and brushes his lips across hers. It's a gentle touch but it makes her shiver or maybe that's the way he looks at her, or the words that he's saying. 

Or maybe it's all of that. 

Either way, Chris knows it's priceless.


End file.
